In simple terms, if someone in the
private sector offered any politician money specifically for voting for
certain legislation, that is called a bribe which is illegal and those
involved are subject to prosecution.

While there is a great deal of money
given by Political Action Committees and other lobbyists to politicians,
discreetly there is never any public statement that such money is given
in exchange for the politicians’ support of certain legislation. Also,
no politician receiving such money who later votes for the legislation
supported by those who donated such funds, would dare to admit publically
that his/her vote was in response to the donated funds, thus, avoiding
any conflict with the law against bribery. However, as so often happens
in the realm of politics, what is illegal for those in the private sector,
becomes a virtue in the political arena.

A good example is the story carried
on the website of Keynoter Publishing Co.(1) which posted on 3-10-04 a
news release from the Associated Press titled: "Bill would allow seat-belt
stops." This was referring to the debate in the Florida Senate at that
time over a bill (2) that would change Florida’s seat belt law from secondary
enforcement to primary enforcement.

Under secondary enforcement, the police
cannot stop a motorist just for not using a seat belt. The officer must
first witness another traffic violation and after stopping the motorist,
if not using a seat belt the officer can then issue a ticket for not using
a seat belt in addition to a ticket for the traffic violation. A primary
enforcement law would allow the police to stop any motorists merely under
suspicion that a seat belt is not being used.

The AP news release further stated:

"The bill is bottled up in the Senate
despite the efforts of U.S. Transportation Secretary Norman Mineta, who
came to Tallahassee and personally lobbied Senate President Jim King,
who opposes the bill Mineta said "primary enforcement" measures save lives
and a federal incentive package would bring $37 million to Florida just
for making it law. But Mineta said he couldn’t change the minds of either
King or another Senate opponent, Sen. Dan Webster, R--Winter Garden."

In simple terms, a government employee,
that is, Norman Mineta, who is Secretary of the U.S. Dept. of Transportation,
a federal agency in President Bush’s Cabinet, clearly offered $37 million
to Florida’s legislators if they would pass a primary enforcement law.
In simple terms, the offer of $37 million to Florida’s state legislators
is a bribe to pass certain legislation.

However, of course, the Secretary dared
not call the offer of $37 million to Florida’s legislators a bribe but,
instead, he called it an "incentive package." Nevertheless, if the same
money was offered by a private citizen to pass a particular legislation,
it would clearly be considered a bribe. That such an offer of money in
exchange for voting for legislation is coming from within the domain of
the federal government to state government, and calling it an "incentive
package," that does not change the fact that money is being offered in
exchange for voting to pass legislation, which is, again, pure and simple,
a bribe..

According to a March 14, 2004 website
news story (3), South Carolina had a similar fight going on. It was reported
that state Senate President Pro Tem Glenn McConnell had delayed a vote
on a primary enforcement bill that had already passed the House. McConnell
said he would filibuster to kill it and added: "People should be free
from police harassment if they choose not to wear a seat belt." It was
reported that South Carolina would get $11 million from the federal government
if a primary enforcement law is passed.

Resistance in Florida and South Carolina
to the federal bribery offer of millions of tax dollars in exchange for
passing a primary enforcement law is not shared by many other states that
passed such a law. Many other state politicians who passed a primary enforcement
law didn’t mind selling freedom and violating the Bill of Rights, that
is, if the price is right. Illinois is a good example.

After nearly two decades of failed
attempts to pass a primary enforcement law in Illinois, advocates finally
were able to push ahead with the election of the first Democrat as governor
of Illinois in nearly those same two decades. According to a July 10,
2003 news story in the Chicago area Daily Southtown newspaper (4), Illinois
became eligible for $31 million from the DOT as soon as newly elected
governor Rod Blagojevich signed on July 3rd a primary enforcement bill
into law. It is most ironic that the governor signed a bill taking away
freedom from Illinois citizens on the eve of celebrating the July 4th,
a national holiday in honor of freedom obtained by the blood of patriots
over two hundred years ago. That just shows how completely disoriented
some of our politicians have become in their greed for federal funds even
at the expense of taking away freedom and in violation of the Bill of
Rights.

It should be fully noted that the U.S.
Constitution, Article II, Section 4 reads: The President, Vice President
and all civil officers of the United States, shall be removed from office
on impeachment for, and conviction of, treason, bribes, or other high
crimes and misdemeanors.

Although Secretary Mineta has no fear
of being prosecuted for offering million of federal tax dollars to state
legislators in exchange for states passing primary enforcement laws, nor
are state politicians who vote for a primary enforcement law in response
to the bribe money being offered from the federal government, former Vice
President Spiro Agnew, who was reelected with President Nixon in 1972,
did not survive charges of bribery. He was accused of accepting bribes
while governor of Maryland and supposedly continued to accept bribes as
VP. He resigned on October 10, 1973 and pleaded no contest to charges
of federal income tax evasion. He was sentenced to three years’ probation,
fined $10,000, and in 1974 he was disbarred in Maryland.

It certainly is strange how bribery
charges lead to disgrace in the case of Spiro Agnew, while Secretary Mineta
is running around the U.S. boldly offering bribes to state legislators
without any fear of being accused of offering bribes. Nor are state legislators,
who accept such bribes in exchange for voting for passage of primary enforcement
legislation, ever accused of accepting bribes.

I wonder what reaction there would
have been if Spiro Agnew had said all those bribes he supposedly accepted
were really only "incentive packages"? The fact is, if a federal employee,
the Secretary of Transportation, can legally offer bribes under the guise
of "incentive packages," why can’t everyone else?

Bill Holdorf lives in Chicago and worked in the
insurance industry for 23 years before retiring from management in which
he audited financial records for more than 100 branch offices of his employer.
Bill has worked tirelessly as an advocate to repeal seat belt laws and
at 78 years young, plans to continue educating Americans about this issue.
E-mail: Wholdorf@msn.com

Under secondary enforcement, the
police cannot stop a motorist just for not using a seat belt. The officer
must first witness another traffic violation and after stopping the motorist,
if not using a seat belt the officer can then issue a ticket for not using
a seat belt in addition to a ticket for the traffic violation.